Fulfilling Promises
by sasha.lopes.98
Summary: From all he knew, the town had been destroyed after the war with the Heartless, leaving no intact building behind. Rated T for language


Seifer walked through all the debris and plants growing limitlessly. He followed a small path between the flowers of many types, looking at what could be seen. He never had thought before that he would actually come back here. From all he knew, the town had been destroyed after the war with the Heartless, leaving no intact building behind.

_He was new in Twilight Town. He'd just gotten in kindergarten after being held back a year because of the problems with his parents, and then he was sent here to stay with his grandparents since they couldn't sort their differences and take care of a seven year old child. Upon arriving, Seifer found it boring and just not his thing, he quickly made friends with Fuu and Rai, since they kind of just seemed to want to follow him around. It didn't take but to the third day for him to spot dirty blond hair and coffee eyes playing with another three kind in the sandbox. He found it pretty, the blond seeming so dirty and pure and different from his own if they were both blond. And the coffee eyes, they had more shine and brightness to them than Seifer's own icy blue ones. He liked the kid head on, and felt a sudden urge to tease and play with the kid. So he did. He went to him and pushed all his friends to the ground, one by one, him being the last. It surprised him how he didn't cry like the others did, instead getting back up and trying to push Seifer down, to which he was unsuccessful. Seifer laughed and left, calling him Chickenwuss over his shoulder._

He stopped in front of the kindergarten school he attended together with the Chickenwuss and their respective gangs, shaking his head shamefully to his childish reaction to the dirty blond. The place was completely ruined now. What once was a freshly built building with many paintings of flowers, birds, cats, suns, and stuff the children drew, with a big playground filled with sand, swings and other kid amusements, and small classrooms where the children sat on pillows and heard stories or just slept together peacefully, was now a forest of five feet tall grass dancing with the wind, the painted walls and overall building crumbled on the ground, swings and stuff rusted to the point they'd fall if a leaf landed on them, classrooms crumbled and old, with the pillows under the debris or serving as beds for stray cats to sleep on. He stepped through the rusted gates, and made his way to the walls of the playground silently dying over from no attendance. He went to the far wall, where he spotted a large whole and went through. It was a shortcut he often took to the Sandlot.

_Twelve year old Seifer jumped out from a bush and into the Sandlot, effectively sneaking up behind the Chickenwuss and scaring him into yelping like a little girl. He laughed while eleven year old Hayner turned around and scowled while blushing, looking cute for once. Seifer just laughed harder and remarked that he "yelped like a four year old baby girl", avoiding a punch that came his way, but taking the next one head on. It ended on a full out fight with bruises and scratches everywhere the two teens had touched each other. Hayner huffed loudly and stood up, looking down at the slightly confused older boy laying flat on his back._

_"__Why do you fight with me so much?" he asked, stretching his hand out to help his archenemy._

_"__Dunno, it's just fun to." Seifer said, smirk falling into place in response to the younger's flushing face. Hayner turned and stormed out, cursing under his breath about how "stupid, bold and narcissist Seifer the bastard" was. Yeah, he really did like to see him react so fervently to him._

Seifer had to walk around a few rocks that fell from the buildings around the area to finally make it to the Sandlot, which Sandlot it no longer was. The buildings were all laying nonchalantly on the ground, and the before proud Struggle ring that lay in the middle was now smashed into the ground by all the debris and rocks that fell. Surprisingly, the trophy lay proud on the ground near it, fully intact but covered in dust and dirt. Seifer got closer and picked it up, pointing it to the bright sun upwards shinning onto him, and seeing how the green orb seemed to glow so fervently, almost asking to be taken. He slid the small orb from its confines and put it in his pocket for later use. Straightening up, he took one last glance at the place he so often used to annoy the crap out of the Chickenwuss.

_It was after a successfully won Struggle match that eighteen year old Hayner came up to Seifer, standing a couple of feet away from him, head low and ears red. Seifer stoop confused with the trophy on his hand, the other one holding the trench coat he was going to dress back on. Then the Chickenwuss lifted his face, red with embarrassment, and spoke shakily._

_"__I-I umm… Kind of lost a bet with Olette and umm… H-Have to confess to the person I l-like…" Seifer waited for him to get his wits together and said nothing, seeing how he was trying hard to say something important. "I-I'm…I'm in l-love with y… You… Seifer…"_

_A full heartedly joy filled smile crossed his face and his eyes won an ever happy glint that seemed to break all the ice the blue of his eyes once had._

_"__I'm so god damn glad to hear that." Without warning he stepped forward and took Hayner's hand, pulling him flush against his own body and kissing him passionately. They only broke apart to breath, seeing how oxygen was important for their health. Seifer kind of stopped thinking in his happy-drug induced state and just hugged Hayner tightly to himself, smiling like Axel did when he got together with Roxas. He even let himself rock a little from side to side, almost lulling Hayner and himself to sleep, before pulling away to cup the dirty blond's cheek with his hand and give him a small but meaningful kiss, as if to remind both of them how much they loved each other._

_"__I love_ you too…" Seifer found himself uttering the words he spoke afterwards from his memory, fully engulfed in the happiness that moment had given him. He had discovered that he loved the Chickenwuss on that day he helped him up from the ground and asked him why he fought with the younger teen so much. The fights after that encounter minimized, and Seifer could only wonder if it was because he had started to be more civilized in front of the dirty blond that he fell in love with him, but little it mattered if they got to be together at all.

Going up the streets, full of dirt and dust and debris, the pavement missing and uneven, spaces more narrow than others, Seifer found himself in front of his old apartment shared with the love of his life, where he also asked him in marriage.

_It was Hayner's twenty fourth birthday, and Seifer decided to make him a surprise party with only the closest friends. They all came in pairs: Rai with Fuu, Pence with Olette, Axel with Roxas, Riku with Sora, and Kairi with Naminé. The last were sisters, but never were seen apart. After the dinner and presents session, finally it was Seifer's turn to present his gift. Plopping himself down on one knee in front of an oblivious Hayner, he spoke:_

_"__I had parents who couldn't sort their differences and dumped their son in an unknown town, I had grandparents who tried their best to be supportive and kind but died early on from disease, I had uncles and ants and unknown people willing to take me in if I left this town, to which I gladly refused anyways," and everyone laughed, Hayner giving all his attention to listening to Seifer after he caught on to what he was doing. "I had, and still have, people wanting me dead because of the Disciplinary Committee, and even more now that I've become a Turk, and I've escaped death a few too many times than normal people would. And through all these hardships, my love for you has only grown. Hayner Ford, will you marry me?"_

_Named dirty blond jumped from his seat and latched himself onto his love contently ignoring their friends and even the small ring, because really, all he wanted was already his._

Seifer unconsciously rubbed the two identical rings on a chain around his neck, made of pure gold and having "H&S forever" written on them. Hayner only saw the ring the next day, only worrying about showing Seifer how much he loved him by crying and never separating from him through the rest of the party, occasionally squeezing his hand or laying his head on Seifer's shoulder. Seifer still blushed when he remembered how much he had freaked out and begged Fuu for help, to which the girl had no other option but comply.

The apartment building had collapsed all over, but their shared room seemed to remain proudly unscathed from all the destruction, as if it was invincible like their owners.

They had spent many years there until Seifer turned thirty.

_Seifer was still frustrated and disbelieving when he got home. How was he supposed to tell this to his lover, and in such short notice? And why him, when there were many others willing to go in his place (short of)? He sighed, taking his shoes off and going to the kitchen where Hayner was cooking his favorite food, from the smell he was getting. Circling his arms around his lover's waist, he put his head on his shoulder and wondered how to tell him about the news._

_"__What's wrong? Usually you'd be fucking me on the counter as way to say thank you for making your favorite food." Hayner had looked at him with barely contained concern. Scratch that, he was even pouting up at him from all the concern he had. Seifer smiled at him, even if it seemed sad, and said:_

_"__Do you want to wait till after dinner or should I spill everything now?"_

_"__Please do spill it now, or I'll have a heart attack from looking at that happy face of yours."_

_Seifer chuckled a little at his irony, and fell silent for a few seconds before continuing._

_"__Tseng set me up to go onto the front lines fighting the Heartless in a month's time. He said I'm the most qualified for it, but I don't believe him. I don't want to leave you…"_

_He had tightened his hold on his lover, nuzzling his nose on the smaller blond's neck and breathing in his sunflower scent, trying to memorize it as if the world was coming to an end. Seifer feared that Hayner would leave him if he left for too long, so he always avoided long-term missions. His worries though, were for naught, as Hayner turned around and kissed him, then dancing around and happily supporting him about how he was the boss's favorite, how he never failed a mission ever before, how despise his bad temper and manners everyone seemed to enjoy him there at work. Truth be told, Hayner was a Turk himself, so he knew these things._

_"__Also, you don't have to worry with aaaaanything! 'Cause I'm going with you!"_

_Seifer paled. Had he heard wrong? He asked it, and his beloved grinned goofily and answered._

_"__I heard about you going to fight against the Heartless from Tseng himself, who offered for me to go along so as you not messing everything up from being apart from me, but I think he just wanted me up there too 'cause I'm awesome, y'know?"_

_Seifer full heartedly grinned, like he had been doing for all the time he was with the little Chickenwuss, and hugged him tightly, while repeatedly saying "I love you" under his breath as an enchantment to keep them together for the rest of their lives, which he liked to think were important and big._

At this point tears were already rolling down his cheeks from all his memories combined with the sight he had in front of him. The place seemed just like it was the last time, Mother Nature seemed to not want to destroy that small place where so many memories from all kinds were created, mostly between Hayner and his friends. It was the Usual Spot, the place where he last saw his lover.

He entered, and when he saw that it was still there, fell to his knees, crying all his sadness and sorrow out as the memories attacked him mercilessly.

_Two weeks after the announcement of their jointed mission, Twilight Town was overrun by Heartless. The memory was fuzzy and confusing, because it was too quick for comprehension. Seifer had just taken Hayner out on a date, it was still the early evening, and the Heartless attacked all they could find. The Turks were scattered around town to fight and help townspeople to get away and into a safe place. It seemed that Rai and Fuu got caught and were having trouble escaping, but Seifer and Hayner themselves were having a little hard time. Hayner pushed him away and shouted for him to go help his friends, and they'd meet up in Sunset Hill when it was over._

_"__Promise?!" Came Seifer's panicked voice at the thought of leaving his love alone, but soon he got a reassuring kiss and a "Yeah, promise" before he reluctantly ran over to his friends._

_He really shouldn't have left Hayner, after all. In the end, he was never seen after their departure from the Usual Spot. It was only a few days after his disappearance that he noticed he had his lover's ring and had lost his beanie in the middle of the fight._

The scar on his face was a cruel reminder of it. He had departed earlier to the front lines, and in five years wiped out Heartless, Nobodies, Unversed, and anything else that crossed his path. He had made new comrades, turned on them, been controlled by an angry witch through time, made a mess, and finally ran and settled down in Balamb, where he was born, with Rai and Fuu faithfully following him around. He had, then, decided to fulfill his promise, and returned to Twilight Town.

Picking up the beanie from the floor of the Usual Spot, he put it in place and made his way to Sunset Hill. With the beanie, he had once again retrieved all his trademark objects: combat boots, trench coat, and 'ore' beanie. He felt a bit more complete than before, but he was still missing a piece of himself. The piece that left with Hayner.

Arriving at Sunset Hill when the sun started coming down, he saw the little wooden cross he had planted there himself to make believe to be the grave of his beloved. He had been finally convinced that Hayner had died by the end of the week after his disappearance, all the Turks, friends and family trying their best to make him come out of his depressed state. Even though he did recover with time, he never smiled full heartedly like he did near Hayner. He had tried going out with other people, forgetting him, indulging himself in alcohol or even suicide (which his friends stopped him by saying Hayner would feel disappointed for his giving up), until he just went with his missions and hung out with Fuu and Rai to not have time to think of Hayner, to which he still found himself thinking about.

He sat down in front of the cross, and just looked at it through half-lidded eyes. After an amazing eternity of thinking, he then spoke.

"Hey, Hayner. I'm back, like we promised. I killed all the bastards who went after you, saved the world a few dozen times, even got controlled by a bitch of a time traveling witch myself, but here I am, back to you. Y'know, I tried many things to forget you, even suicide- hey, stop laughing! I know it's stupid and childish for the Seifer Almasy himself to try these things, but you just know how to get under my skin like that. You shouldn't actually feel happy for almost getting me killed after you yourself disappeared into thin air…" Seifer had started crying again at this point, all the emotions going through him like a knife through paper. His heart ached, damn, his whole body ached from how much he missed the dirty blond. He missed their fights, he could still tell someone how many scars he had and which were gotten when and how, since it was him who made those scars. He felt bad for it afterward, but Hayner seemed to consider them part of their fucked up kind of love life they had since they met.

He missed his smell. He always smelled like sunflowers and cinnamon from spending so much time in Sunset Hill, more downwards in the middle of the hordes of plants the farmers made for a living. He had once gone down there with him, and he came to know it was soothing and relaxing to lay down in the middle of so many dancing flowers. It became their mutual favorite place, and when one of them wanted to find the other, they'd go down there.

Seifer got up to look down at the sunflowers when movement caught his eye. There was someone down there just laying down and snoring like an idiot. It made him think of Hayner. The first time he found out about that place was when he wanted to talk to him after a harsh fight when they got together, and he wanted to apologize. The Chickenwuss was laying down exactly where that person lay, in that same position… snoring just like that person…

Seifer jumped the fence and sprinted across the fields. They were very long and spread to the horizon, what seemed like impossible since no field was that giant. When he got close enough, the person had felt him coming and stood up as well. The he stopped. And stared.

It looked just like Hayner. Dirty blond hair spiked up in his usual fashion, cameo shorts and small vest and black tank top like he so enjoyed wearing because he looked cool, coffee eyes the exact replica of his. The person started to sob. And he understood. He didn't look like Hayner, he _was_ Hayner.

"Se…" his voice broke with a loud sob. "Seifer!..."

Seifer himself broke again into crying sobs and ran to him. Seeing as how the smaller blond stumbled to him, he could only think he had an injured leg. When they were at arms length, Hayner jumped to his embrace, and they fell together to their knees, hugging each other tightly as if the other would break if they ever even thought to let go. Hayner kept on saying his name between sobs, while Seifer hugged him, or more like crushed him to himself, drooping his head on his shoulder and taking in his scent of sunflowers and cinnamon.

"God, did I miss this smell… Did I miss your hugs… I… I missed you so much it was unbearable! It was as if they took my oxygen from me…" Seifer heard the dirty blond give a small laugh to his statement, and pulled away just enough to look him in the face. He was a tiny little bit older, black circles under his eyes as if he hadn't slept in ages. Maybe he hadn't.

"If people took oxygen from you, you'd die under five minutes, you douchebag."

"I almost did, Hayner… I almost did… Who you calling douchebag, anyways, you Chickenwuss!"

Hayner glared up at him through teary eyes, which didn't look very effective besides cute, and then laughed, drawing their foreheads together.

Seifer lay back down and pulled Hayner with him, hugging him tight and firmly, curling up to him as the other did the same, but never closing his eyes as if in fear this was just a hallucination that would end when he closed his eyes. All that time, he had had nightmares of losing his love every single night, froze on his tracks if he saw something in the corner of his eyes that looked like him, broke down into raging fits that then gave way into bursts of cries and shouts and even suicide, he had been under the control of bitches and bastards because they used reviving Hayner as a blackmail to get his attention, and all this while, this desperate while, he had been right here, for five unforgivable years, expecting to see his lover again someday.

Hayner told him what happened. He had managed to kill all the Heartless that came his way, but had an ugly injury on his leg, and passed out somewhere in the middle of the field. The farmer who owned the fields found him and took care of him kindly, and Hayner decided to pay them back by helping with the farm, which they accepted reluctantly. They did need the help, but knew he had to be somewhere else and his injury was nasty enough for him not to walk right for a while. They decided that he'd stay until he was fully healed. He healed completely within a year, but kept getting himself hurt, so stayed despise his agreement with the farmer and family.

"Wanna know how my time without you went?" Seifer was looking at the sky, intently listening to his story.

"Eh, I already know." Seifer looked down into chocolate eyes questioningly.

"How so?" Hayner was looking back at him with a smug smirk on his face.

"The radio hasn't been talking about anything else than 'the hero, Seifer Almasy, saving the world and then turning on them for unknown reasons'… Speaking of which, what in the flying fuck got into you? Turning on the world and then disappearing like that…"

"Bitch of witches and bastards controlled me into making what they wanted, I'm so not proud of it."

"How did they get to the almighty Seifer Almasy? I thought you were 'invincible'."

"…" Seifer hesitated but said it anyways. "They said they could bring you back from the dead…"

Hayner fell quiet, just looking into icy blue eyes melting affectingly, half closed and lovingly looking at him back, as if trying to make sure he is really there and not just an illusion.

Hayner pushed up a little and kissed him, slow and passionate and reassuringly, and tentative. Seifer returned the kiss, and hugged him again.

"Hey, I'm not just going to up and puff away, so stop looking at me like that. It's as if you're looking at someone who got revived with a Raise spell!"

"Olette and everyone convinced me that you were dead and I should move on…"

They fell silent again, looking at the sky as it darkened. It still didn't seem true that all this time the smaller blond had been farming around just near home and he had never thought about looking around.

"I… Heard you, by the way. Welcome back, Seifer. You kept your promise." Hayner was grinning like an idiot, having sat up and looked down at Seifer. The older blond looked up at him. Why had he never thought to look for him? Maybe because the others so successfully made him think he was gone. Maybe because he stayed up in Sunset Hill for a week but saw no sight of him. Maybe because his boss was desperate to save the world but didn't want to force him so got in a dilemma. Maybe because he decided to emerge himself in work and lessen the pain. Maybe… Maybe because he knew all along that he was safe, somewhere, waiting for him.

"This is yours, by the way." Seifer pulled out the rings, and Hayner's face lit up into a goofy grin like a candle. Taking the dirty blond's ring out of the chain, he slid it to his hand, and Hayner repeated the motion. Then Hayner gave him another passionate kiss, and stood up. He wanted Seifer to meet his saviors, and he complied, wanting to thank them for saving his lover himself.

They staid together after that. Hayner departed from the farm with the promise to visit, and went to live with Seifer in Balamb. Seifer had, this time, made a different kind of promise: not to leave Hayner's side ever again. Not even when he went to the bathroom, if you know what he means. After a while, they worked to reconstruct Twilight Town, and it was a success. It was so similar to how it was before that it felt like nothing had ever happened before, and Seifer felt relieved for it. Now that he had his Chickenwuss back, he had nothing to worry about but to keep his promises.

A/N

If you want to know, I was listening to _Stop and Stare_ from OneRepublic when I made this. It was a small idea I had for awhile but didn't really know what to write in the beginning, but after reading _In Our Garden_ from FinalFallenFantasy, got a good idea and made this.

it was supposed to be a sad one where it ended with Seifer crying over Hayner's death and finally moving on, but then again I just didn't want to make them suffer and it ended this way...

Hope you like it! R&R please! Lots of love! :3


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